This afternoon as I was leaving work I stumbled upon an amazing opportunity --- just outside my office building the San Diego Blood Bank had a booth set up to become part of the National Marrow Donor Program. I had heard about joining the marrow registry before, but did not know exactly what it entailed. I tend to shy away from blood donation banks because I am thin and anemic and sometimes leave the country and sometimes have a new tattoo, all things that don't make me the perfect blood donor candidate.

Joining the marrow registry, however, had fewer limitations. Essentially, you can't be obese, can't have HIV, Hepatitis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, lung disease, clotting problems, or back problems. More importantly, though, the process of becoming part of the marrow registry is a million times easier than donating blood-- all you have to do is rub four Q-tip swabs along your cheeks in the back of your mouth for ten seconds. Thats it! You're done!

Walking away from my Q-tip swab experience was already rewarding enough. Why? Because until I turn 61 years old, I will be part of the marrow registry. That means for the next 33 years of my life I could be a potential bone marrow match for a person desperately in need of bone marrow, a person who might die without a match.

I asked the volunteer at Be The Match, the foundation running the event, if certain ethic groups were more in demand for bone marrow. She gave me a sheet with some scary vital statistics. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, there are not enough racially or ethically diverse members on the registry to meet the needs of patients. Of the nearly 7 million registry members, 73% are Caucasian, 10% are Hispanic, 8% are African American, 7% are Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% are American Indian. This means that 83% of African American patients  DO NOT receive a life-saving transplant; 81% of American Indians DO NOT receive a life-saving transplant; 75% of Asians DO NOT receive a life-saving transplant; 61% of Caucasians DO NOT receive a life-saving transplant; and 55% of Hispanics DO NOT receive a life-saving transplant. 

What I did this afternoon, the Q-tip swab inside my mouth, was probably the easiest thing I've done all year. And yet, it could have the greatest impact on my life and the life of another person. Really, its a win win situation. For more information about how to join the registry, go to bethematch.org 

***Statistics courtesy of National Marrow Donor Program